


In Sickness

by rz_jocelyn



Category: Messiah Project - All Media Types
Genre: Complete, Gen, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 02:54:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4003126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rz_jocelyn/pseuds/rz_jocelyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haku collapsed? Feeling the blood drain from his face, Kaidou Eiri jumped to his feet, not even flinching as his chair shrieked harshly from being shoved backwards roughly. ‘Let’s go,’ he said shortly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Sickness

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for "Messiah ~Dou no Shou~". Set before "Messiah ~Hakugin no Shou~". None of the characters belong to me. Comments and criticisms are welcomed. ENJOY! xD
> 
> Info:
> 
> "-senpai" - Loosely translated to, "senior".
> 
> "-sensei" - Usually used as a title for teachers, medical practitioners, such as doctors, are also often called that.
> 
> [1] "Gomen." - Translated to, "Sorry."

Though muffled, the sound of thundering footsteps could be heard approaching the library before the doors were flung open. Standing at the doorway, leaning on his knees and panting heavily, was Gojyo Souma. Heads turned, and there were more than a few frowns of disapproval as the man searched the tables, bumping into chairs and people – to whom he murmured quick apologies – heedless to the racket he was making.  
  
Stopping a student he was certain he had seen in one of their training sessions, he gasped, ‘Kaidou Eiri, have you seen him?’  
  
The student – a junior – just pointed at a table hidden behind a row of shelves. Nodding his thanks, Souma continued in his search. The junior Church student watched his senior as he disappeared between the shelves. He hoped that Kaidou-senpai was still at the table he had pointed Gojyo-senpai to; whatever it was to have agitated the elite student so badly, it had to have been something of utmost importance and urgency.  
  
Luckily for Souma, Eiri was indeed where the student had pointed him too, busy scribbling down notes as he read through a book. ‘Eiri!’ he called.  
  
Hearing his name, the said student looked up as Souma came to a stop beside him, leaning on his chair as he gasped for breath. Eiri was about to lecture Souma on his commotion when the look on the other man’s face stopped him. ‘What happened?’ he asked instead.  
  
Gulping down more air, Souma struggled to calm his erratic breathing. ‘I-It’s Haku,’ he said, ‘H-He collapsed. He’s in the medical bay now, and you’ve been summoned.’  
  
_Haku collapsed?_  
  
Feeling the blood drain from his face, Eiri jumped to his feet, not even flinching as his chair shrieked harshly from being shoved backwards roughly. ‘Let’s go,’ he said shortly, and both students rushed out of the library, their footsteps echoing as they ran down the hallways to the medical bay.  
  
Eiri could feel his heart racing. For Haku to have been sent to the medical bay, and for Souma to have come after him with such urgency and desperation, Eiri feared the worst. The past week had been filled with restless nights as Haku tossed and turned, unable to sleep, which, in turn, kept Eiri up; Haku’s condition rapidly deteriorating as the lack of sleep gave him spikes of headaches. The older man had also begun eating less and less – though he probably thought that Eiri hadn’t noticed – and it had got to the point where he had refused a chocolate energy bar that Eiri had offered to him, who was worried that Haku’s body would give out from the lack of food.  
  
That had been the last straw for Eiri, who had insisted that Haku get himself checked out, but his Messiah had refused, saying that he was completely fine.  
  
That was this morning. To hear that Haku had collapsed…  
  
Thrusting, the doors open, Eiri rushed into the medical bay.  
  
Only to find Haku sitting on the bed, looking completely fine, sipping on some water through a straw. Eiri blinked as his Messiah gave him a small wave. Shuusuke was sitting on a chair beside the bed, calmly reading from a book, though he looked up as Eiri entered the room, Souma right behind him. ‘You’re here,’ he said, getting up, ‘I’ll get Ikariya-sensei.’  
  
As it turned out, Haku had indeed collapsed; though it was more of a sudden bout of light-headedness caused by a lack of sleep. And, he was lucky that Shuusuke and Souma had been with him, their quick reflexes preventing him from braining himself on the floor.  
  
The actual cause for his condition: a toothache.  
  
‘A toothache?’ Eiri questioned, parroting Ikariya-sensei’s words, ‘Pulpitis?’  
  
‘It’s a condition where the center of the tooth, or the pulp as it is called, gets infected and becomes extremely sensitive to sensations, such as hot and cold. In Mitsumi-kun’s case, all the sweets he has eaten has caused a severe tooth decay, exposing the pulp, and it has become severely infected; hence the toothache,’ Ikariya-sensei said, ‘I’ve given him some pain-killers, but I need him to come in again in a week’s time for another checkup. Until then, Kaidou-kun, you’ll have to make sure that Mitsumi-kun doesn’t eat any sweets and that he sticks strictly to his diet of soft foods and lukewarm water.’ She regarded Eiri, who looked a little dazed. ‘Do you understand what I’m saying, Kaidou-kun?’  
  
‘Y-Yes!’  
  
A toothache. That was what Haku had been plagued by; a toothache.  
  
He was going to kill Souma!  
  
As soon as Ikariya-sensei had dismissed them with a sound lecture to Haku about the maintenance of his teeth, Eiri rounded on Shuusuke’s Messiah. ‘YOU!’  
  
Souma raised his hands up in a gesture of defense. ‘It was Haku’s idea,’ he said, not willing to face Eiri’s wrath; the younger man could be really scary when he was truly riled up.  
  
If he was going down, he was sure as hell dragging Haku down with him.  
  
Eiri turned to his own Messiah. ‘I should’ve known that you would be involved,’ he said, his voice rising in volume with every word, ‘Did you think it was FUNNY?!’  
  
Haku snorted. ‘You need to lighten up,’ he replied, undaunted. He wasn’t Eiri’s Messiah for nothing. ‘And, lower your voice. You’re noisy.’  
  
‘I’m noisy? I’M NOISY?!’  
  
Deciding to jump in before Eiri started strangling the living daylights out of Haku, Souma piped up teasingly, ‘You totally fell for it. You freaked out.’  
  
Eiri sputtered. ‘I-I most certainly didn’t!’  
  
But, he had – he had genuinely panicked, his heart thudding in his throat – and something of it must’ve shown on his face because Souma sobered up immediately, looking contrite. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Eiri spun around on one heel and stalked out of the room. He was overreacting, he knew, and he would probably apologize to Souma or at least let him know that Eiri wasn’t mad at him – he was most definitely mad at Haku, but not Souma.  
  
Later, he would do it later; right now, all Eiri wanted to do was go back to his room – _their_ room – and not think of why he had been so shaken up.  
  
‘Eiri! EIRI!’  
  
A hand landed on his shoulder, and without even turning around, Eiri knew that it was Haku. ‘What?!’ he snapped, coming to a halt and turning to face his Messiah.  
  
Haku just looked at him, head cocked to the side as he eyed the younger man. ‘Why are you so upset?’ he asked, ‘It was a joke.’  
  
A joke.  
  
Yes, that was what it was; only a joke.  
  
Nobody was dying.  
  
Toothache aside, Haku was absolutely  _fine_.  
  
It was only a joke.  
  
Eiri laughed weakly.  _What was wrong with him?_  
  
‘You have an awful sense of humour, you know?’ he mumbled, eyes averted to the ground.  
  
For a heartbeat, neither student moved; the silence between them deafening.  
  
Eiri nearly jumped out of his skin as two hands landed on both his shoulders before he was pulled into a hug. Normally, he would’ve pushed Haku away – the other man took too many liberties with him in Eiri’s opinion – but in that moment, the solid warmth of Haku’s arms around him, the unique scent of his Messiah, did a lot to calm his nerves.  
  
‘ _Gomen_  [1],’ Haku whispered, pressing Eiri tightly against him, the half-empty cup water crunching slightly with the force of his grip, reveling in the fact that the smaller man was relaxing in his hold, the barely visible trembling of his slight frame subsiding. He had only wanted to tease his Messiah a little; he hadn’t realized that Eiri would’ve taken it so badly.  
  
But, he should’ve, shouldn’t he? After all, if their situations had been reversed, if  _Eiri_  had been the one who was in the medical bay, Haku would’ve descended into a complete meltdown.  
  
Despite his numerous experiences, he had never been good in dealing with loss.  
  
Putting his hands back on Eiri’s shoulders and nudging the other man to look at him, Haku vowed, ‘You will not lose me.’  
  
Eiri stared wide-eyed at the other man, Haku’s seriousness and complete, utter sincerity not lost on him.  
  
_I promise you will not lose me._  
  
_Believe in me, Haku!_  
  
_I am your Messiah!_  
  
Eiri couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips. ‘Aren't you just repeating what I said?’ he teased.  
  
But, that was why they worked so well together, didn’t they? Because they hadn’t just been what the other had needed; they had both understood each other, and had given to each other something nobody else could.  
  
For Eiri, who had always cursed the fact that he lived while everyone around him died – he had always  _wanted_  to die, had always wondered why he  _couldn’t_ – Haku made him want to live; because he knew what it was like to be left behind – abandoned and alone, always alone – and he would never do that to Haku.  
  
For Haku – because of Haku – Eiri had learnt what it felt like to truly be  _alive_.  
  
Relieved that Eiri had returned to normal, Haku shrugged, sipping on his water. ‘It was that,’ he said, ‘or this.’  
  
Leaning down, he pecked Eiri lightly on the lips.  
  
Reflexes honed by experience, Eiri shoved at Haku. ‘What the heck are you doing?!’  
  
_Yep, definitely back to normal._  
  
Haku raised an eyebrow, stating in a deadpan manner, ‘What does it look like? I’m kissing you.’  
  
Eiri was sure he must’ve looked like an overly ripe tomato; he could feel even the tips of his ears burn from his blush. ‘You’re loopy, that’s what you are. The drugs the dentist gave you must’ve been good.’  
  
Haku sipped on his water before remarking, ‘The dose was pretty light. I’ll apparently get a heavier one if I need surgery.’  
  
Eiri stretched his arms above his head. ‘No missions for us then.’ Then, he turned to the taller man, wagging a finger at him. ‘And, no sweets for you.’  
  
That gave Haku a pause. ‘I’ll just have to find a temporary fix until then,’ he said, shrugging.  
  
It was Eiri’s turn to raise an eyebrow at his Messiah; he had expected Haku to kick up a bigger fuss about being banned from his usual treats. ‘A temporary fix?’  
  
He knew he was in danger when Haku stared straight at him, intent clear in his eyes. Eiri immediately backed away from the other man. ‘Do not even think of doing what you’re thinking of doing.’  
  
Haku took one step towards him, closing the gap between them.  
  
Immediately, Eiri took a step backwards, placing a hand against his chest. ‘Don’t come any closer.’  
  
‘Or, you’ll what?’  
  
Knowing better than to rise to Haku’s challenge when he was in this kind of mood, Eiri spun around on one heel, and strode off.  
  
‘Oi! Eiri!’  
  
Souma and Shuusuke watched as Haku shook his head before jogging to catch up. Unconsciously – or purposefully, Souma couldn’t tell – Eiri slowed his own pace as they both fell in step with each other, walking shoulder to shoulder. ‘Looks like those two are back to normal,’ he remarked. He might not have admitted it, but he had felt a little concerned – okay, so he had been downright worried – that maybe, just maybe, they had taken the prank a little too far, even if they had completely underestimated the severity of Eiri’s reaction. Ire, yes – because Eiri wouldn’t be Eiri if he didn’t blow up at them, and this was  _Haku_  they were talking about – and amusement – because Eiri might not have wanted to admit it, but he wasn’t as put off by Haku’s jokes, gags and pranks as he always wanted to seem – but Souma should’ve known something was wrong the moment he entered the library, and Eiri’s face had paled considerably at his announcement.  
  
Apparently, Haku hadn’t been the only one under stress during those painful days.  
  
‘Well, what did you expect?’ Shuusuke asked, pushing his spectacles firmly up the bridge of his nose, ‘They are each other’s Messiahs after all. You should apologize to Eiri the next time we meet.’  
  
Souma turned to his own Messiah, his eyebrow raised. He wasn’t altogether surprised that Shuusuke had insisted on him apologizing to Eiri – and Souma had planned on doing that even if the other man hadn’t said anything – but the sentimentality of his words about the other pair had caught Souma off-guard.  
  
‘It isn’t like you to be sappy. What brought this on?’  
  
Shuusuke avoided Souma’s inquiring gaze. There was a heartbeat of silence. Then, he said softly, ‘I would’ve reacted the way Eiri did if I found out that you were in the medical bay.’  
  
Souma blinked, his mind processing the quiet admission. Then, his eyes softened. Reaching out a hand to lightly clasp the other man’s shoulder, he said simply, ‘Same here.’  
  
They shared a smile, relishing the moment.  
  
‘Seriously though,’ Souma remarked, as he and Shuusuke made their way to their own room, ‘those two can be so ridiculous. Who would’ve thought that there would be this much drama over a toothache?’

  
  
~ OWARI ~

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written based on a prompt by the lovely obnoxious_acorn @ Livejournal. The prompt was: "There should be some fic where Haku gets a toothache or something of that matter ^ ^".


End file.
